Charles Wright worked for Carrier Turan Foley Motors for thirteen years as a mechanic balancing and aligning tires. One day in 2013 after a regular work day he woke up with terrible pain in his back and legs. Although he wasn’t supposed to work that day, he went by there to report his injury. According to his employer, Wright had a long history of back and knee problems dating back to 2002. It argued that his pain in 2013 was solely a result of his bad back and arthritic knees and not a new injury or even the exacerbation of an old injury.

Wright filed a petition to controvert. The employer hired Dr. Rahul Vohra to do an independent medical examination. Wright issued a subpoena duces tecum seeking information regarding Dr. Vohra’s income from similar work performed in the past five years, along with all financial documents related to any independent, Rule 35, or employer-requested medical examinations. The judge quashed the subpoena and sanctioned Wright’s attorneys $5000 to pay for Dr. Vohra’s attorneys fee after Wright filed multiple discovery motions regarding the subpoena and deposition of Dr. Vohra.

The AJ and the Commission found that Wright had not suffered a compensable injury. Wright appeals that finding as well as the AJ’s quashing the subpoena. The employer argues that even if Wright was entitled to query Dr. Vohra regarding his work for employers in workers comp cases, Wright was able to do so here during cross-examination wherein Dr. Vohra admitted to doing hundreds of examinations on behalf of employers.